Friends of the victim of a fatal crash on Broad Street in Hatfield hold a vigil Monday night, Aug. 25, 2014.
Bob Raines — For The Reporter

Hatfield Township >> Hundreds of area car fans gathered Monday on North Broad Street in Hatfield to remember one of their own, lost far too young.

Friends and family members of Tim Nguyen, 21, of Hatfield placed candles, wrote messages on heart-shaped balloons, and revved the engines of Tim’s favorite Honda cars parked in a nearby driveway, while wiping away tears as they remembered their friend near the site of the accident where he lost his life.

“We were leaving the 7-Eleven on Cannon Avenue, went down Main (Street), up Broad - we were behind him, but he was going pretty fast. No drag racing, just heavy-footed,” said friend Amanda Ochs.

Ochs said Monday night she was riding in a car behind Nguyen’s when the fatal accident took place around 12:30 a.m. as the car struck a utility pole located in front of the Kumon Learning Center at 1601 North Broad. That utility pole was the site of an impromptu vigil for much of Monday and likely into Tuesday, according to Nguyen’s friends, who decorated and sent aloft heart-shaped paper balloons to remember a friend Ochs described, while blinking away tears, as a “super nice guy, kind, respectful, loved cars, great friend, good kid.”

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The occasional driver on Broad Street honked in sympathy as they passed the utility pole, which was decorated with a T-shirt featuring artistic designs, dozens of candles, and messages left by friends who gathered all day Monday.

“Tim was a great guy, very big on his family, very close with his family, very humble, very respectful. Just an all-around good person, always willing to help somebody out,” said another friend who asked not to be identified.

That friend said the vigil was organized by the local Envious Car Club (Every Nasty Vehicle Illustrates Our Useless Spending), and members of that group said Monday they will try to organize events to raise money to support Nguyen’s family and longtime girlfriend.

Team Envious posted tributes to Nguyen on the group’s Instagram profile @TeamEnvious on Monday and said the team “took a huge hit last night that will always be felt - we love you brother things won’t be the same without you,” citing Nguyen’s Instagram tag @Nguyenbuilt.

Friend Monica Copley said on Instagram Nguyen “always had a smile on his face and was always so quick to help out - such a nice kid...he won’t ever be forgotten, rest in peace” and friend Megan Smith said on Instagram “so unbelievable, so sad, we’ll all see you again someday.”

Friends at the accident scene said a passenger in Nguyen’s vehicle, whom they identified as 22-year-old Andy Kham, was flown by medical helicopter to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, where friends said he was in critical condition as of Monday afternoon.

No information on the accident was available from Hatfield Police on Monday evening.